Eye cup



Sept. 4, 1956 w. w. MONROE 2,761,448

EYE cup Filed Nov. 4, 1952 IN V EN TOR,

WILLIAM W MONROE .BY

ATTORNEY United States Patent EYE CUP William W. Monroe, Philadelphia,Pa.

Application November 4, 1952, Serial No. 318,596

2 Claims. (Cl. 128-249) The object of the invention is to provideimprovements in such receptacles as eye cups, but while specific mentionis hereinafter made to eye cups as a class, it is to be understood thatthe scope of the invention includes any and all receptacles to which theprinciples described and claimed may be adapted.

Another object is to provide an eye cup, for example, that in packingand shipping may be collapsed or flattened, or which, if preferred, maybe nested one within another, and which, in any case, when consideredindividually, readily assumes a sufiiciently expanded shape, as to makethe contour of its normally upper open end closely conform to thethree-dimensional curvature of the eyeball, as defined upon the outersurface of the eyelids.

A further object is to provide an improved eye cup of sheet materialsuch as paper, parchment, or the like, that is impervious to moisture,yet stifi enough to hold its particular degree of expanded shape, toconform to the widest range of facial contours, and which will in nocase offer the slightest degree of abrasive surface, points, or edges,to the skin or membranes of the user.

Still another object is to so form the improved eye cup as to provide anoutwardly and slightly reversely turned flange or heading, for thepurpose and towards the end of its engaging the skin or membranes withcompletely harmless and most comfortable contact surfaces, such as willinsure the ultimate in uniform engagement and prevent the escape ofliquid from And a still further object is to provide a method ofmanufacture of the improved eye cup, which is characterized by theinitial provisions of a sheet blank of paper, parchment, or the like,comprising substantially triangular areas, separated by suitable scoringor bead lines, and otherwise bordered by ogee or undulating curvededges, such that when the blank is properly folded along said lines, itwill assume the roughly ox-yoke curve necessary for proper engagementwith, and in order to conform to, the natural curvature of the human eyesocket, as hereinafter brought out.

With the object thus briefly set forth, the invention comprises furtherdetails of construction, which are hereinafter fully explained in thefollowing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which Fig. l is a perspective view of an eye cup comprisingthe present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a plurality of thesame nested for shipment and storage, as an alternative to shipping andstorage in completely collapsed fiattened form; Fig. 3 is an endelevation of a single such eye cup expanded for normal use; Fig. 4 is atop plan view of the article in operative extended form; and Fig. 5shows in outline a flat blank from which the improved eye cup is formed.

Patented Sept. 4, 1956 Referring to the drawings, and to Fig. 5 inparticular, a properly cutout blank 1 is formed of paper, parchment, orother suitable sheet material, and is essentially shown as comprising atleast three roughly triangular sections 2, 3 and 4, and a portion anadditional such section 5, said sections being defined by and betweenscored or bend lines 6, and the edge of the said blank opposite to saidsections being of any desired configuration, as at 7. It will be notedthat the outermost edge of each of said sections comprises a central,slightly cutback, concavely curved portion 8, between oppositelypositioned outwardly or convexly curved portions 9, that merge into andform continuations of each other in each pair.

When this blank is folded along the scorings or bend lines 6, in afashion of a cornucopia about the common intersection of said lines at10, and the outer free edge 11 of the section 5 is secured as by rubbercement or the like to the outer surface of section 3, as indicated inFig. 2, a generally conical cup is formed (Figs. 1-4), but which cupinstead of being a true cone is somewhat flattened, so that when viewedfrom either its open end or its pointed end, its free edge appears as asubstantially geometrical ellipse (Fig. 4). However, when viewed fromwhat may be termed one of its ends, or in line with its scoring, fold,or bend lines (Fig. 3), it is transversely arcuate, and when viewed fromeither side (Fig. 2) its free edges assume the form of an ogee curve. Bythis carefully developed construction, there is provided a free edge ofthe cup, that closely corresponds to the three-dimensional shape of thecontinuous recesses that in general and externally define the limits ofthe average eyeball upon the outside of the eyelids, and when containinga liquid and lightly pressed into such recesses insure the retention ofthe liquid within the cup, and prevents its escaping either by steadystream or by droplets down the check of the user. Furthermore, byslightly rolling the outer free edge portions of said blank sections, acontinuous beading 12 (Figs. l-4) is provided, such that there are nootherwise free edges of the cup material to scrape, scratch, orsimilarly injure the skin and membranes of region of the eye.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A sheet blank for an eye cup, comprising a plurality of generallytriangular sections, the outer free edges of each of said sectionshaving the shape of an ogee curve, and the ends of the curve of eachsections being a continuation of the adjacent end of the curve of thesections next thereto in opposite directions.

2. A sheet blank for an eye cup, comprising a plurality of generallytriangular sections, the outer free edges of each of said sectionshaving the shape of an ogee curve, whose central portion is concavewhile its opposite portions are convex and form continuations of thecurves of adjacent sections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS687,139 Evans Nov. 19, 1901 1,197,323 Wolf Sept. 5, 1916 1,557,620Robinson Oct. 20, 1925 2,058,515 Schaatf Oct. 27, 1936 2,286,692 SmithJune 16, 1942 2,333,090 Carew Nov. 2, 1943

